Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846Various
History
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol. 60, No. 373, November 1846
Various
England -- Periodicals; Scotland -- Periodicals
established their camp, or rather their bivouac, for tents they had
none, near Bautzen, and fortified their position by intrenchments and
redoubts. On the 20th the fight began; 28,000 Prussians and 70,000
Russians, so says the baron, against 150,000 French. A large
disproportion; and, moreover, the troops of the Allies were not made the
most of by their commanders. General Kleist's corps, consisting of but
5000 men, was left from ten in the morning till late in the afternoon to
defend itself unassisted against over-powering numbers of the French.
And most gallant their defence was. They fought before the eyes of both
armies, on the heights of Burk, which served as a stage for the
exhibition of their courage, and of the calm skill of their commander.
Von Rahden records the fact, that the Emperor Alexander sent several
times to Kleist to express his praise and admiration; and that his last
message was, that he could kiss Kleist's feet (a thorough Russian
testimony of respect) for his splendid behaviour with the advanced
guard. At length large bodies of the French having moved up to support
the assailants, a reinforcement was sent to Kleist to cover his retreat.
It consisted of Von Rahden's battalion, which, on the retrograde
movement being commenced, was for some time completely isolated, and
bore the whole brunt of the fight. Orders were given to clear a
corn-field which afforded shelter to the enemy. Here is a spirited
description of the fight that ensued.
"I led the skirmishes of the first and second company. We entered the
field, and instantly found ourselves within fifteen or twenty paces of
the French marines, whom Napoleon had attached to the army, and whom we
recognised by the red lace on their shakos. We were so near each other,
that when our opponents fired I felt the heat of the burnt powder. The
battalion was about fifty paces behind us, but on rather higher ground.
It deployed into line, and fired a volley over our heads, which some of
the bullets missed by a trifle. A very unpleasant sensation and critical
moment; and many of my men showed an eagerness to get out of this double
fire, or at least to shelter themselves from it as much as possible. The
bugler tried to run; I caught him by the coat skirt, and ordered him to
sound the assembly, meaning to retire with my skirmishers to the right
flank of the battalion. He obeyed, clapped his bugle to his lips, and
began a quavering call. Suddenly the sounds ceased, and the bugler fell
backwards, spitting and sputtering with his mouth, stamping and striking
out with his feet and hands; then, jumping up, he ran off like a madman.
A bullet had entered the sound-hole of his bugle. At the same moment I
felt a hard rap on the right hip, and was knocked down. It was a
canister-shot; the blood poured out in streams, and, before I could join
the battalion, my boot was full of it. My comrades were hard at work;
after a few volleys, they kept up an incessant file-fire. They were
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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